This project began when the Sunshine Coast Council programmed a streetscaping upgrade to Bulcock Street, Caloundra with the introduction of street furniture and structures. Coastal townships around Caloundra’s beaches experienced enormous growth post-war contributing to their design character and identity. As a result the 50’s and 60’s was a period of great optimism; a building boom that continued the story of Australia’s great love affair with the beach. The beach culture, architecture, colours, textures, lines and patterns from this period is what provided us the visual clues to celebrate Caloundra’s contemporary sense of place today.
Norfolk Island pines stand tall and omnipresent as natural icons and cultural markers on Caloundra’s beaches. They are etched in the collective memory of seaside holidays, they provide strong vertical markers in the landscape – shadow patterns recognizable on the ground and omnipresent in holiday postcards.
Drawing elements and lines from Caloundra’s architecture gems from the period and the textures abstracted from the Norfolk Island pines leant us a palette for new shade structures. The structures are simple, transparent, light and playful. They provide kinetic movement and changing geometry as the viewer moves along Bulcock Street. Tilted steel posts painted in high gloss 1950’s colours of aqua, green, yellow and pink radiate vibrance and informality, pushing a colour coded orientation along the street. Vertical stainless steel wires and coloured growth studs follow the kinetic zigzag rails, enabling these structures to support the growth of selected scented vines. The overall composition of posts, wires and growing vines provide a rich tapestry for filtered light and shadow to move throughout the day.
